Buck mask



June 18, 1935. 1-, J DRAGQQ, JR 2,005,649

BUCK MASK Filed April 26, 1933 .Jwavme Patented June 18, 1935 UNITEDSTATES PATENT oFFioE BUCK MASK Thomas J efierson Dragoo, Jr., Spoiford,Tex. Application April 26, 1933, Serial No. 667,969

. 1 Claim.

This invention relates to masks, shields and blinders for installing infront of or over the eyes of such animals as buck sheep to prevent theirfighting one another. Such fighting is very common amongst sheep herdsand is very injurious to the participants, as wounds are opened upon thehead which become infected, thus resulting in the death of the animals.

It is the prime object of the present invention to provide a mask whichmay be readily mounted upon the head of a buck sheep or the like, anddisposed in front of the eyes in such a way that so long as the animalkeeps his head raised his vision remains unobstructed in all directions,15 but when he lowers his head as in grazing or charging, the maskassumes automatically a position which will cut off the animals visionforwardly, thus destroying the charge.

Another object is to provide a mask for attaching to the horns of 'abuck sheep or the like in such manner that the mask will dependforwardly partially over the eyes of the animal, but will not obstructthe lateral vision of the animal when his head is lowered as ingrazing,nor his forward vision when his head is elevated as in walking fromplace to place.

Another object is to provide a mask of the kind referred to, comprisingfront and rear portions, and straps or other fastenings secured to therear margins of the mask at points transversely aligned between the saidfront and rear portions, the said straps being designed for fastening tothe base of the horns of the animal for providing a certain pivotalvertical play to the structure when mounted upon the animals head, theforward portion of the device or mask proper being designed and shapedso as to obstruct the direct forward view of the animal when his head islowered, though not interfering with his lateral view, and the rearwardportion of the device constituting a point, tab or flap extendedrearwardly and adapted to contact with the back of the head of theanimal, for preventing the complete overturning rearwardly of thedevice, as by a wind.

With the foregoing and such other objects and advantages in view as mayappear from the following specification, attention is directed to theaccompanying drawing as exemplifying a preferred form of the invention,and wherein Figure 1 is a side view of the improved mask as mounted uponthe head of a buck sheep, the animals head being raised.

Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, the animals head beinglowered.

flap 3 attaching loops Figure 3 is a front view of the ensemble ofFigure 2.

' Figure 4 is a frontal elevation upon a greatly enlarged scale of themask itself, and attaching elements.

The invention comprises a head plate represented generally at l, thesame being made of sheet metal or any desired material, and comprising arelatively broad forward portion or mask proper 2 and a rigidlyconnected, relatively 10 narrow and reduced or attenuated rear portionor stop flap 3. Immediately at the sides of the 4 are secured to themask portion 2, the same being arranged in transverse alignment betweenthe said frontal and rear portions of the structure. Chain links 5 arefreely connected with the loops 4 and through the end links thereof arepassed fastening straps 6 for passing around the horns l of the animal8, whereby the device is mounted in place upon and over the forehead ofthe animal, the straps having perforated ends 9 for engaging buckles Itat the opposite ends, for such purpose. The forward portion of thedevice or mask proper 2 is rounded off upon its frontal corners, asshown at H, and the side margins are curved slightly down, as shown at12, so that said mask portion conforms in a degree to the rounded shapeof the animals head, and the said margins l2 come fairly down towardsthe eyes [3 of the animal. By this arrangement the forward and lateralvision of the animal is unobstructed while his head is raised and hisforward 'vision is obstructed and his lateral vision unobstructed whenhis head is lowered. The rear portion or stop fiap 3 extends back overthe back head of the animal, and prevents the rearward overturning ofthe device under the force of a high wind, or any other cause. This stopflap may be turned or curved up somewhat if desired, from its point ofconnec- 40 tion with the mask portion 2 and as clearly shown at [4 inFigure 1, whereby a greater degree of lateral play is afforded thefrontal mask portion 2.

In use and operation, the device permits the 5 animal to graze or towalk with head elevated, without hindrance, but the instant he lowershis head to make a charge as in fighting, his forward vision is cut offby the mask, thus removing his objective from his view and destroyingthe charge.

While I have herein described a certain specific manner and method ofconstructing and assembling the elements of my invention, it isunderstood that I may vary from the same in minor details, not departingfrom the spirit of my invention, so as best to construct a practicaldevice for the purpose intended, as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is,

In a device of the class described for the forehead of a horned animal,a transversely curved and forwardly tapered head plate of a width lessthan the distance between the outer sides of the horns at the basesthereof for disposition with its concave surfacecontacting the forehead,the

